Now arriving at SEPTA stations, quick CPR classes

SEPTA has set up a mobile CPR class at transit stations throughout the region offer 2-minute lessons on saving a life.

With inflatable CPR dummies and one-to-one training, the goal is to help people learn these skills more quickly.

“It’s really important to make sure that Philadelphians — bystanders, customers, people who work for SEPTA — are aware of how to save a life,” said Carrie Givhan, a SEPTA ambassador who is trained in the program.

The training sessions have been pared to only the essentials, said Nabil Abdulhay, coordinator for the mobile CPR project.

“That’s the leadup to CPR, just the responsiveness and breathing,” he said.

“So if you find someone on the ground, that can be condensed to ‘call 911, and push hard and fast in the center of the chest,’ ” said Abdulhay, who is also clinical research coordinator at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

It’s been a few years since the American Heart Association and American Red Cross adopted the hands-only CPR method. They made the change after research found that enough air gets into a patient’s lungs from the series of quick chest compressions without mouth-to-mouth breathing. They emphasize hands-only for the first few minutes, until rescue workers arrive to help.

SEPTA’s training effort, which started at Suburban and Jefferson stations, will move around the transit system.